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Fresh in from Kernow

Chris Nevard

Entry posted by Chris Nevard

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6757605191_738fbc9b47.jpg

nevard_120125_class22_IMG_2312, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Yesterday morning I opened the door to the porch to find this rather well packed parcel from Kernow Model Rail Centre sitting there in the form of the much awaited Dapol Class 22 - a very useful item, especially for those that model railways half a century ago anywhere west of Heathrow.

 

I have yet to look at it properly, but was able to find a few moments to grab this snap of the compact little beast. Obviously the detail pack needs to be added along with separate panels that clip in below the body.

 

I may well renumber this loco, though I know that there were many variations so I could be heading straight for a huge web of nit-pickers - even more than usual if I get that wrong with the number-obsessives. I did try collecting trains numbers once, it lasted for 1 about hour at Eastleigh station in the spring of 1981 before I got totally bored of what to me is a pointless activity - still, each to their own I guess! I have some good friends that collect loco numbers, so at least I now know that not everyone who does this is a nutter, but 30 mins at Tamworth Upper Level Station is enough to realise these good gentlemen are a rarity, but on the other hand, odd is interesting and cool - so, so what!

 

The Class 22, or North British Type 2 Bo-Bo were mixed traffic locos, but lack of reliability meant that they tended to find work on less important services and were frequently seen on demolition trains on closed railways, where if they failed apart from the crew becoming marooned, were unlikely to mess up any schedule resulting in irate passengers! These locos in real life were pretty unreliable and generally unloved, so they mostly appear in photos looking more than a little worse for wear frequently with tatty worn paint - a weatherer's dream to recreate! For me it's a great choice, being ideal for the sort of backwaters I enjoy making, its compact size not over-powering the the small layouts.

 

Whilst they only ever appeared on the SDJR after closure on demolition trains, one did briefly make an appearance at Glastonbury in 1964 on an inspection train - see this link. Something like that would make an interesting short train in miniature. Personally I can also see this loco being used on Cement Quay on the odd occasion I decide to back date the operation and of course it will fit in perfectly on Polbrock. All in all, a good buy! Well done Kernow and Dapol!

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  • RMweb Gold
Captain Kernow
  • RMweb Gold

Chris - in terms of correct numbering for this loco (should you wish to change what it's been provided with), the 'sub-class' that it corresponds to (with treacherous exceptions!) is D6306 to D6333 inclusive. Anything outside of that number sequence isn't strictly correct....;-))

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  • RMweb Gold
John B
  • RMweb Gold

Minor point, Chris - this is a general issue Dapol model, not a Kernow commission. The Kernow commissioned Class 22s are the weathered versions only.

 

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on one..

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darren01

HI Chris

The class 22 is a cracking model and after getting my one I have ordered another!

After running it in on my rolling road for a few hours it runs so well, at low speed.

I have a book in which a driver was asked, what was his favorite thing about the class 22 …..”The fire extinguisher! “

Dapol have done an amazing job on this loco and I can not wait to see what they do next!

All the best

Darren

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D869

Chris - in terms of correct numbering for this loco (should you wish to change what it's been provided with), the 'sub-class' that it corresponds to (with treacherous exceptions!) is D6306 to D6333 inclusive. Anything outside of that number sequence isn't strictly correct....;-))

 

At the risk of nit-picking (but in my defence, I have actually modelled one of these beasties, so I needed to know)...

 

... watch out for the 'eyebrows' - the vents over the cab window which were found on locos up to D6312 I think, plus (for some strange reason) D6333. Locos from D6326 onwards have a different boiler which may affect the roof vents at that end.

 

Locos up to D6333 did not have headcodes from new (which is probably why they ended up with a different front end layout from the later ones), so check photos for dates when they were retro-fitted.

 

For a relatively small, short lived class of locos, the detail variations are a real minefield.

 

At the end of the day though I find these locos full of character and perfect for so many jobs on the kind of layouts that most of us build.

 

Regards, Andy

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